Red Manicure

You will never believe it, but this is my first Red manicure in my life.

But this time I decided to try red.I usually opt for natural colors which I find subtler, more practical and less flashy.

I get my manicures in Paris from Oksana. I met her about a year ago at the hairdresser’s where I usually go to, Jean Louis David, at CNIT on La Defense where she has set up a small stand. By coincidence, Oksana is also from Russia. She is from Volgograd, a large industrial city situated to the south of Moscow on the Volga River. During the Soviet era, the city was known as Stalingrad, named after Stalin. Soon after Stalin’s death in 1953, to mark the end of his dicatorship, the city was renamed Volgograd.

Oksana is a kind, understanding, slim young woman. After arriving in Paris and marrying a Frenchmen ,she passed the necessary exams to get a diploma to become a manicurist in France. When I come for my appointments we happily chat for an hour, during which she does my nails. We exchange the latest news about our families; we also exchange recipes, finding new ideas for adapting the Russian styleof cooking to the French one and discussing what places in Paris are the best for buying Russian food. Oksana is a great fan of pastilla, a kind of a Russian marshmallow which has eggs in it making it crispier.

45 minutes later, my manicure is done. I say good-bye to Oksana and promise to come to see her soon.